Council offers to buy Olympic flame-carriers' torches

A London council has set the precedent that, perhaps, others will follow, in announcing that it will pay for the cost of the Olympic torches for its runners should they wish to keep theirs as a memento.

Olympic organisers Locog have revealed that each torch costs £495 to make and that, with subsidies, this comes down to £199 charge for the torch bearers to cough up if they’d like to take their torch home.

Waltham Forest Council has said it will foot this bill for any of its residents running in the torch-carrying event.

Council leader Chris Robbins said: “It seems a bit rich to expect residents of an Olympic host borough to fork out so much money, especially when they’ve done some amazing things and got some very special stories to tell.

“We hope this gesture will be picked up by other London boroughs so that all of the capital’s torchbearers wil be left with a brilliant memento from London 2012.”